Category: Environment

Environment

Bangus Unlikely To Have Road, Expected To Be Biosphere

Editor

Given the growing concerns over the fragile ecology, state’s tourism policymakers are unlikely to permit a road to the northern paradise the Bangus Valley. While the entire housing infrastructure is planned to come up in the periphery of the scenic spot in the villages surrounding it, possibility of a ropeway is being explored to manage the high altitude connectivity. “We have the fragile ecology of Kashmir in mind and we will not like to copy Gulmarg or Pahalgam in Bangus valley,” Farooq Ahmad Shah, state’s Tourism Secretary told a seminar…

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Kishenganga Hydroelectric Power Project| High Court seeks response on residents’ rehab plea

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A bench of Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar passed the direction on a petition filed by the nine inhabitants of Village Kralpora Check Bandipora in a representative capacity through advocate Altaf Mehra The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has issued notice to state government and National Hydro Electric Power Corporation for response on a petition seeking directions for rehabilitation of the families affected by the Kishenganga Hydroelectric Power Project in Bandipora in accordance with the National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy 2007. The petitioners also seek directions for constitution of a panel…

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Gangabal yatra begins tomorrow

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The annual yatra to Gangbal lake, which is considered to be the abode of Lord Shiva, is all set to start on Sunday. Talking to us, All Parties Migrant Coordination Committee (APMCC) chairman Vinod Pandit said pilgrims had started arriving and the yatra would be flagged off from Naranag in Ganderbal district of the Kashmir valley. The yatra is being organised by the Harmukh Ganga Gangbal Trust (HGGT) with the support of the APMCC. “A group of around 100 devotees will set out for the yatra after the puja at…

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‘Meadow of Gold’ loses its glitter

Editor

Unplanned, illegal constructions continue unabated in Sonamarg  The ‘Meadow of Gold’ Sonamarg is fast losing its charm, thanks to the failure of the successive governments to prevent unplanned and illegal constructions from coming up at the world famous tourist resort. A number of concrete structures- including hotels, restaurants and even residential houses- have sprouted in Sonamarag. “These days Sonamarg seems to be turning into a residential colony due to the mushroom growth of unplanned constructions in recent past,” a local resident said. “Many influential people who had sought permission for…

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Authorities sit on Jhelum encroachments

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Restoration of river Jhelum has hit a roadblock as authorities have failed to take measures for removal of encroachments from its banks. Encroachments dot the river embankments at various places in the summer capital. In absence of any regulation, many hutments have come up on river banks at Pandrethan, Pampore, Chattabal and Qamarwari and its adjoining areas. “These hutments not only affect aesthetic beauty of Jhelum but also weaken its embankments. In case of rise in the river’s water level, there is risk that adjoining habitations can be submerged,” said…

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Study reveals unique behaviour of captured wild animals

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With man-animal conflict on the rise in Kashmir, a first-of-its-kind scientific study has thrown light on the newer aspects of this conflict and the behaviour of the captured wild animals in the region. The research on captured Asiatic black bears at Dachigam by four wildlife scientists has revealed that wild animals venture out from the protected areas to human-dominated landscape during early springs and late autumn months in search of food as these areas have availability of high quality food than their natural habitats, which is forest and protected areas.…

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Would Kashmir’s autumnal grandeur be lost to urbanization greed?

Editor

As ripening paddy fields impart a magical golden-brown magnificence to the countryside, the soothing autumnal sun shines to confirm that the season of plenty has arrived in Kashmir – as an environmental disaster looms. From paddy, maize, apples, grapes and pears – all the yearly labour of local farmers and orchardists is readying to be harvested. “Almost all the marriages ceremonies in the past would be held after the harvesting period in the Valley,” Nisar Hussain, 64, a retired chief engineer, told IANS. “The poor farmer would get his return…

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CM orders realignment of 388 houseboats in Dal Lake

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Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today ordered the Lakes & Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA) to immediately undertake realignment of houseboats at Doldum to prevent the untreated sewage from entering the Dal Lake here. He also directed LAWDA to develop a model housing colony with all basic amenities at Rakh-e-Arth so that Dal Lake dwellers could be shifted there without any further delay. He was reviewing the progress achieved under the National Lake Conservation and Management Programme (NLCP), a Rs 298.78-crore project sanctioned by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF)…

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Jhelum continues to shrink due to illegal encroachments

Editor

Even after one year of floods, nothing seems to have changed when it comes to removing encroachments along the Jhelum in Kashmir. During September-2014 floods, several residential colonies constructed illegally along the river bank were damaged. The administration had promised to stop such activity. Between September 3 and 7, 2014, heavy rainfall had led to massive flooding in the Jhelum, which breached its banks—six breeches only Srinagar— and devastated several areas. Most of them were built in an illegal way during the last two decades. The blatant violation of the…

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Mitigation measures yet to take off for future floods

Editor

With a series of mitigation measures recommended by experts remaining unimplemented over the past year, the threat of floods remains real in Kashmir. The recommendation and preventive measures to “minimise the risk” associated with floods — suggested by experts and also documented in an official assessment report of the state government — have remained unimplemented even as the Kashmir region is ready to mark the anniversary of last year’s devastating floods. The official report prepared after last year’s deluge by the Indian Space Research Organisation’s National Remote Sensing Centre and…

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